Improvement in potato-diggers



' c. HARRIS,

. I OTATO-DIGGER. BIL-177,504. Patented May 16, 1876 UNITED STATESCHRISTOPHER HARRIS, or MARTVILLE, NEW YORK,

IMPROVEMENT IN PQTATO-DIGGERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 177,504, dated May 16,1876; application filed January 3, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER HARRIS, of Martville, in the county ofCayuga, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Potato-Diggers; and do hereby declare that thefollowin g is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing .had to the accompanying drawing, making a part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my machine asarranged for use; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, the dottedlines showing the positions of parts when the plowstandard and the rearendof the sled are locked together.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

The object sought by my invention is to increasethe speed and to lessenthe labor required for removing potatoes from the ground and itconsists, principally, in the peculiar construction of the shovel,substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified. It consists,further, in the construction and combination of the shovel and sled,substantially as and for the purpose hereinaftershown. lt

' consists, finally, in the means employed for locking together theshovel-standard and the rear end of the sled, substantially as and forthe purpose hereinafter set forth.

In the annexed drawing, A and A represent two runners, secured togetherat their front ends by means of a cross-bar, B, and near their rear endsby a bolster, 0, and provided with a tongue or pole, D, which is hingedto or upon said cross-bar, the whole forming a sled for supporting mydigging mechanism. Pivoted between two nuts, 6 and 6, upon a verticalbolt, E, which is secured within the up per side at the longitudinalcenter of the crossbar B, is a beam, F, that from thence extendsrearward to the bolster G, and has secured to its rear end aplow-standard, G, said standard being inclined downward and forward atthe usual angle, and having attached to its lower end a shovel-plow, H,and to its upper end a cross-bar or handle, I. Within the upper andfront sides of the bolster O is formed a recess, 0, which corresponds toand receives the rear side of the standard G, and holds the same firmlyin lateral position.

A hook, K, pivoted at one end to or upon the rear side, near the upperend of said standard, engages, when desired, with an eye, 70, that issecured within the rear face of said bolster, and locks said partsfirmly together, by which means the entire rear portion of the machinemay be raised by the handle I whenever it becomes necessary to passobstructions. Theshovel H has a peculiar form, being curvedtransversely, substantially straight from its point to its upper end,its upper central portion being provided with an opening or space, It,while within each side, midway from said point to its heel, is formed anangular space, h, which has its greatest vertical dimensions at itsfront end, and from thence rearward decreases regularly in size. Fromthe space It to the point of. said plow its lower edge inclines forwardand downward, and at said point is upon a line horizontally with thelower edge of the heels. 1

In use the front portion of the shovel passes beneath the hills ofpotatoes and loosens and raises the same, while the wings of said plowturn the principal portion of the soil to each side, and the potatoespass upward and rearward and fall through the opening h. A portion ofthe soil passes beneath the shovel through the openings h and h.

It is intended that the runners A and A shall follow the furrows uponthe sides of a row of hills, while the shovel may be swung to eitherside, if necessary, to bring it beneath each hill.

By raising or lowering the nuts 0 and 6 upon 7 the bolt E the front endof the beam F will be correspondingly raised or lowered, and the depthof the shovel within the ground in a like degree varied.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, whatI claim as new 1sl. The shovel H, havingits front upper portion convex,its wings extended outward and rearward, with their lower edges upon aline horizontally with the point, provided with the space it at its rearupper central portion, and having a triangular space, h, within eachside at its lower end, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The sled A, A, B, and C, the bolt Eeythe In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I beam F, the standard G, and the plow H,con-' havehereunto set my hand this 25th day of strueted and combined in themanner and for August, 1875. a the purpose substantially as shown.

3. In combination with the bolster 0, pro- CHRISTOPHER HARRIS. videdwith the recess cvand eye 70, the shovelstandard G, having pivoted uponits rear side Witnesses: the hook K, substantially as and for the pur-DANIEL BIRD, pose set forth. ALICE Bm-D.

